Iowa Caucus Date 2016: When First Round of Voting for Presidential Candidates Starts

After months of fluctuating 2016 presidential polls and heated televised debates, Iowan voters registered with a political party will be the first to help determine which candidate will win the respective Republican and Democratic nominees at the Iowa caucus one week from Monday.

The highly-anticipated caucus will take place on Feb. 1 in Des Moines. Registered Republican and Democrat voters from all 1,774 Iowa voting precincts meet and cast their vote over discussion. The winner of each party will then be granted the most delegates for the national party convention, where the state elects the presidential nominees for each party.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was leading the Democratic nominees by a landslide for months until top challenger Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders caught up in recent polls. The latest Iowa poll shows Sanders topping Clinton 51% to 43% in the key election state.

Business tycoon Donald Trump has remained the solid frontrunner in the Republican race. He's so confident in his chance at the nomination that he recently said at an Iowa rally he could "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and "wouldn't lose any voters."